Qattara Depression

views updated May 21 2018

Qattara Depression Desert basin in the Libyan Desert, nw Egypt. Impassable by armies and vehicles, it marked the s end of the British defensive line at El Alamein (1942) and stopped the German Afrika Korps' advance under Erwin Rommel. It contains the lowest point in Africa, at 133m (436ft) below sea level. Area: c.18,130sq km (7000sq mi).